Hummus Recipe

Since the Hurricane Sandy post was rather deep, I thought I’d counter it something a little lighter: A hummus recipe! Yay!

Admittedly, until a few months ago, I never thought of making my own hummus. I always thought it was one of those things you had to buy at the store, like milk. I mean, I guess in a theoretical, abstract sort of manner, I knew one could make hummus at home but – my God! – it would take all sorts of weird ingredients and expensive machinery and probably involves complicated cooking concepts like “blanching” (which, incidentally, does not sound appetizing, at all).

An article on Slate.com, part of the “You’re doing it wrong” food series, taught me otherwise. In short, they were saying that making hummus at home is easy and cheaper (and potentially better) than buying at the store.

Here’s what I use:

2 cans of Garbanzo beans

3-ish Tbsp of Olive Oil

1 to 1 ½ lemons worth of juice

3 Tbsp of smoked Paprika (also known as Pimenton)

3 Tbsp of Lemon Pepper seasoning

3 Tbsp of Cumin

1 to 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3-ish Tbsp of Tahini

*NOTE – I upped this to 3 Tbsp of cumin, paprika and lemon pepper as 2 Tbsp was a bit too bland for my taste*

Throw it in a blender and go for it. It makes me a little under a quart of hummus (or 800 mL).

Admittedly, the Tahini – or sesame seed paste – might be a little hard to find in some chain stores. That said, I’d reckon that if someone lives in an area that has any Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern population, there should be a store that sells it. I’m told that almond butter or natural peanut butter can be used as a substitute. Then again, once I made it and forgot to add the Tahini and it was just fine….

…which is also the beauty of this recipe – you can add or subtract whatever you please. Want more paprika and less cumin? Go for it! More garlic? Grip it and rip it. Pesto and sun-dried tomatoes? Live the dream. Chili powder or Cayenne? Get in there, big shifter.

The hardest part of this is the cleanup. I don’t think the blender is the best device for this and wonder if maybe a food processor with its larger container and removable blade might be better suited.

I eat this with carrot sticks (I’m so not giving you a recipe for those) as a snack. Naturally, it will be good with pita chips, crackers, whatever.